129. The only one

This was Prince Ning's first visit to the capital, and he won the emperor's favor by personally visiting the disaster-stricken area. After returning to the city, he was inevitably rewarded with many gifts. He was also a vassal prince with military power, and the powerful people in the capital immediately tried to curry favor with him. The day before yesterday, someone gave him a pair of turtles made of pure gold, which were as big as sea bowls and very heavy.

Rong Zhan held a turtle in his hand. The turtle's eyes were also inlaid with gems, showing its nobleness. However, Rong Zhan looked indifferent. He glanced at Luo Ling standing beside him and said, "You are not completely unaware of what Ji Chang did, are you?"

Luo Ling was still as polite as ever, and he admitted calmly, "Your Majesty is wise."

Rong Zhan snorted and laughed, "Don't flatter me. If you don't know what your subordinates did, you don't have to be the Minister of Finance."

Luo Ling smiled, his expression dull, "What can we do if we know? The prince has also seen the situation in the court. It doesn't matter who is in charge of this matter. How many people can go to disaster relief with a clean record? We all know it tacitly."

Rong Zhan was playing with the golden turtle, seemingly indifferent to the matter, looking down as if he was not involved, and said, "So you just watch?"

"Yes." Luo Ling said, "I have seen this for many years. I have seen officials protect each other, factions unite to fight against dissidents, and each harbors his own evil intentions and schemes against each other. But in the final analysis, they are all for their own glory. If the Regent had not intervened this time, those disaster victims would have died and no one would have cared. Your Majesty, the country has come to this point, and the lives of the people have been destroyed. It is time to make a decision."

He was answered with silence.

But Luo Ling was not in a hurry, as if he had already made a conclusion.

After a while, Rong Zhan raised his eyes and asked with a smile: "The Regent Prince is also diligent in his work and loves the people. He has made an invaluable contribution to the disaster relief efforts this time, and he has personally worked for the disaster victims. Why don't you go to the Regent Prince's mansion and seek refuge?"

Luo Ling's expression changed slightly, but he still shook his head. "To serve someone, you must share the same ideals. The Regent King is kind, but he was also cruel and tyrannical. If he were the king, it would definitely be a variable for the Jin Dynasty."

"Let's not talk about this." Rong Zhan glanced at him, "You should take care of your own people in the future. As for the rest, I will make the decision on my own."

Luo Ling frowned slightly.

Rong Zhan added in a deep voice: "Lord Luo, don't try to guess my decision."

The threat is obvious.

Luo Ling said no more and bowed to take his leave.

After he left, someone walked out slowly from behind the screen, holding a jeweled golden turtle in his hand.

Rong Zhan put the golden turtle down and sighed: "Marquis Dingbei, is this sincerity enough? This matter has nothing to do with He Zhen and Xiao Wang. You have heard that the situation is like this. Unless we rectify it from beginning to end, otherwise, if we lose Zhu Lanshan, we will still have Ji Chang. If we lose Ji Chang, we will still have others."

Liang Shenyu's expression was not as gentle as usual, and he looked a little stern. He said in a calm voice: "We are used to it, so we turn a blind eye. Minister Luo's words are righteous and solemn, but Prince Ning, I find it very interesting that even these officials who claim to be upright think that the court of the Jin Dynasty is like this and has nothing to do with them."

Rong Zhan hesitated, "What?"

Liang Shenyu threw the golden turtle on the table, where it stayed with the other one, and sneered sarcastically, "The flood broke the dam. Is the responsibility entirely due to a single unstable brick, or should we blame the last drop of water that broke the dam?"

Both Luo Ling and Lu Shangqian were well aware of the chaos in the court, and chose to watch from afar. They seemed to be keeping out of the mud, but who knew that they had already stood in the river? How could they really stay out of it?

He keeps scolding corrupt officials and then uses the excuse of being powerless to watch in silence. The world is drunk but he is the only one sober. In fact, he has already fallen into the trap and is just deceiving himself and others by portraying himself as a saint.

Rong Zhan saw a smoky and miasma-filled Dajin from Liang Shenyu's words, so he remained silent.

Liang Shenyu spoke again: "This shouldn't have happened."

How dare Ji Chang, a Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, act so recklessly? It seems that this trend is prevalent in the court and no one is controlling it.

Rong Zhan said helplessly, "I understand what the Marquis meant, and I have already warned Luo Ling. However, I just asked Minister Luo, and I also want to ask the Marquis, why did you choose the Marquis when you have a close relationship with the Regent Prince?"

"That's what he meant." Liang Shenyu said calmly, "Prince Ning can make his own decision."

Rong Zhan smiled and said, "If that's the case, Marquis Dingbei is being so rude today, aren't you afraid that the little prince will turn against you in the future when the birds are gone and the bows are hidden?"

Based on Liang Shenyu's arrogant attitude today, Rong Zhan was sure that any emperor would feel uneasy and feel that his supreme power was threatened.

But Liang Shenyu did not react to this, not even showing indifference, he just said calmly: "That day will never come."

Rong Zhan: “…”

There is no way to respond to this.

Liang Shenyu said all he needed to say, and saw with his own eyes that Rong Zhan and Luo Ling had already established contact, so he knew what was going on and did not stay any longer.

"My Lord."

Mu Xiao opened the door and walked in, walked to Rong Zhan's side, and whispered: "The Dali Temple Prison has invited the imperial physician."

"Imperial Physician?" Rong Zhan asked, "For whom?"

"Ji Chang." Mu Xiao said, hinting at something. "Marquis Dingbei just came back from there, and the case has not been closed and the conviction has not been made. The Dali Temple cannot let the prisoner die. I sent someone to inquire about it, and heard that Ji Chang will not survive for more than two days, and he should be convicted and sentenced today."

Rong Zhan couldn't stay calm, and said in surprise: "He did it? No, why would he do this? The evidence is solid, Ji Chang will die, it's a done deal, what's the point of him doing this? And today, it's strange that he came here to make a fuss for this. Does Marquis Dingbei really love his people like his own children?"

Mu Xiao remained silent, and Rong Zhan began to talk to himself. He unconsciously recalled the time in Tong County, when Marquis Dingbei and the Regent King had been so intimate and tacitly understanding with each other, eating and living together, and how the Regent King had entered the palace late last night to help the disaster victims, and then claimed to be sick.

As they were pieced together one by one, a ridiculous idea suddenly occurred to Rong Zhan's mind.

...Could he be angry about the Regent falling ill?

Prince Ning didn't know that he had already guessed the truth.

Liang Shenyu was just angry. The court doctor said that Rong Se was ill due to overwork and had caught a cold. The weak and sick look of Rong Se last night was still vivid in his mind. Even though he knew that his life was not in danger, Liang Shenyu was still terrified to the point of confusion.

The winter was too cold, and his relatives left one by one, as if they were walking into the snow. The heavy snow gradually covered their traces, and then everything disappeared.

No one will come back.

He tortured all the people involved in this matter one by one. The worst of them was undoubtedly Ji Chang. Liang Shenyu deliberately spared Ji Chang's life, waiting for the Dali Temple to close the case, but he only kept him alive for no more than three days.

As for Rong Zhan, Liang Shenyu was keeping a close eye on him, so how could he not notice that Luo Ling intended to surrender?

It's a joke that the Minister of Revenue can't manage his subordinates and even blames it on the situation.

After returning to the palace, Liang Shenyu restrained his murderous look. As soon as he entered the room, he saw Rong Se curled up on a short couch waiting for him. Her hair was half tied up casually with a jade hairpin and she was covered with a blanket. She was obviously still sick, but looked much more energetic than last night.

Liang Shenyu felt a little relieved and walked forward.

"Why did you come back just now?" Rong Se smiled at him. There was no blame in his smile, which was his unique clarity and gentleness. "I heard from Yun Chu that you were released from the Dali Temple Prison a long time ago. Why did you come back at this time? I woke up from my nap."

Liang Shenyu was stunned.

He knew where he had been, so he must also know what he had done.

But he still spoke in his usual tone and didn't ask any more questions.

Liang Shenyu lowered his eyes and sat beside him, saying softly, "I went to see Prince Ning."

Then he told the story of what he had seen and done with the Ning Jun Wang. Rong Se listened quietly and nodded. He smiled with a gloating look and said, "Isn't this considered as Rong Jing shooting himself in the foot? He invited Rong Zhan to try his best to please me, but he didn't know that he was eyeing his throne."

You can see that Rong Se is in a good mood.

Liang Shenyu also smiled softly and said, "Well, the prince seems to be very satisfied with Prince Ning?"

"It remains to be seen." Rong Se held Liang Shenyu's slightly cold fingers and put them in his palm to warm them up. "But at least for now, he has done well. He is better than Rong Jing anyway."

At least in the disaster-stricken area of ​​Tong County, Rong Se saw with his own eyes that Rong Zhan was not a playboy who could not endure hardship.

"Has Your Majesty never thought about this? He is just pretending?" Liang Shenyu curled up his fingertips slightly but did not withdraw them.

Rong Se smiled and said, "So it remains to be seen, but it doesn't matter. What's important is what he did. Just like you, Sanlang, you didn't really want to protect the country and the court. You just wanted to fight the Xiongnu to death. But no matter what, you still protected the people of Dajin, and that's enough."

Liang Shenyu was quiet for a moment, then chuckled and said, "The prince really knows everything."

"I can only know it if you are willing to let me know." Rong Se also smiled and said, "But I thought about it, the fact that I like you has nothing to do with these... Even I can't explain why."

He never expected that he would fall in love with Liang Shenyu.

When she first read this name and this story belonging to him in a book, she felt a deep heartache and indescribable secret emotions. Everyone said that he was a god of war, but Rong Se saw his loneliness. Then, the snowstorm in her dream, the sense of separation between the heart-wrenching young man and the calm and steady Marquis Dingbei, made Rong Se's heartstrings even more tense.

Caring about him and falling in love with him seems to be a natural thing.

After all, they were so similar and both had struggled in despair. Even Rong Se had once had such a terrifying thought that he himself was afraid of, but in the end he was still himself, just as Liang Shenyu took over the burden of his father and brother, silently and alone walking towards the road that he originally did not have to bear.

"What if," Liang Shenyu asked softly, "I am a wicked person? What if the prince comes too late and I have already provoked a quarrel?"

"We will all pay a price for what we do." Rong Se's eyes were gentle and firm, with the tenderness of spring. He gently pinched Liang Shenyu's fingertips and said softly, "But this does not prevent me from falling in love with you, Sanlang. I like you because of who you are, not because of who I want you to be. No matter what path you take, if those possibilities exist, maybe my choice will be different. Those are variables that will not happen, but what remains unchanged is..."

"From a very early time, you have been unique and different to me."

Liang Shenyu was speechless, "You..."

"I am very sure of this." Rong Se said softly, "I like you, only you."

Apart from Liang Shenyu, no one else could make Rong Se so fascinated.

Rong Se knew very well that he was different and irreplaceable, the only real one in the vast space and time.